Holocaust survivor Wiesel to speak in Akron

AKRON -- Elie Wiesel, author, Holocaust survivor, human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, will speak at the University of Akron at 8 p.m. April 15 at E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall. His efforts also have earned him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal and the Medal of Liberty Award. A native of Romania, Wiesel and his family were deported by the Nazis to the Auschwitz concentration camp when he was 15. His mother and younger sister died there; his two older sisters survived. He and his father were transported to the Buchenwald camp, where his father died. His book: He wrote about his experiences in "La Nuit," which was published in 1958. "La Nuit" has been translated into 25 languages and has sold millions of copies. Since 1976, Wiesel has been the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University. Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and children, and $4 with a University of Akron identification. Call E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall ticket office at (330) 972-7570 for more information.